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In-Cylinder Pressure Measurement in Reciprocating Engines

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Book cover Reciprocating Engine Combustion Diagnostics

Part of the book series: Mechanical Engineering Series ((MES))

Abstract

Combustion diagnosis based on in-cylinder pressure signal is widely used to study and optimize the combustion in reciprocating engines. The development of more affordable sensors along with the enhancement of computation features in current engine management systems (EMS) makes the in-cylinder pressure sensing a suitable methodology for the onboard combustion diagnosis and control of the engine. Cylinder pressure is one of the most valuable parameter for analysis of the combustion process. The experimental cylinder pressure measurement setup and its major elements along with their functions are discussed in this chapter. Two fundamental measurement variables for combustion measurement and evaluation are (1) cylinder pressure and (2) cylinder volume, which provides the measures of work and energy release in the engine cylinder for combustion diagnosis. Direct measurement of cylinder pressure is often done by installation of the pressure transducer, which is a challenging job due to harsh conditions in the combustion chamber (high temperature and pressure). All the aspect pressure transducer including its construction and material requirement, specification, mounting, and installation are presented in this chapter. Although piezoelectric pressure sensors are the most widely used technology, however with advances in technology and miniaturization of electronic components, alternative techniques and technology are available for use in transducers for the evaluation of the combustion phenomena via pressure sensing. The alternatives to piezoelectric pressure transducer are discussed including ion current sensor, strain gauges, and optical sensors. The crank angle encoder is the key component of the in-cylinder pressure measurement chain. Different types of crank angle encoders for combustion measurement, working principle, and output signal from encoders are discussed. The most important task of the crank angle encoder is to provide referenced crank degree marks to the data acquisition system, which samples the cylinder pressure signal. The sampling rate of data acquisition system is governed by resolution of crank angle encoder. The resolution requirement of crank angle encoder is described in this chapter for different engine operating conditions.

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Abbreviations

ATDC:

After top dead center

AEAP:

Average exhaust absolute pressure

ANN:

Artificial neural networks

ARMA:

Autoregressive moving average

ASE:

Average signal envelope

BDC:

Bottom dead center

BTDC:

Before top dead center

CA:

Crank angle

CA50:

Combustion phasing 50% heat release

CI:

Compression ignition

COV:

Coefficient of variation

ECU:

Electronic control unit

EGR:

Exhaust gas recirculation

EMS:

Engine management systems

EVC:

Exhaust valve closing

EVO:

Exhaust valve opening

FSO:

Full-scale output

GaPO4:

Gallium phosphate

GDI:

Gasoline direct injection

HCCI:

Homogeneous charge compression ignition

IEPE:

Integrated electronics piezoelectric

IMEP:

Indicated mean effective pressure

IVC:

Inlet valve closing

IVO:

Inlet valve opening

LiNbO3:

Lithium niobate

LP:

Low pass

LSE:

Lower signal envelope

LTD:

Long-term drift

NO:

Nitric oxide

PbTiO3:

Lead titanate

PC:

Personal computer

PE:

Piezoelectric

P max :

Peak cylinder pressure

RPM:

Revolution per minute

RTV:

Room temperature vulcanizing

SI:

Spark ignition

SiO2:

Silicon dioxide

TDC:

Top dead center

USE:

Upper signal envelope

WOT:

Wide open throttle

L :

Length of the air duct

Q :

Calculation of charge output

R :

Gain adjustment resistance

Δt:

Time interval

a b :

Mounting base or reference acceleration

a o :

Output acceleration

D i :

Vector of electric flow density

d iμ :

Tensor of piezoelectric coefficients

f n :

Undamped natural frequency

G A :

Charge amplifier gain

G s :

Piezoelectric pressure transducer sensitivity

L T :

Length of tube

T μ :

Tensor of mechanical stress

V A :

Amplifier output voltage

V c :

Clearance volume

V cv :

Volume of the cavity in front of the pressure sensor

V dead :

Dead volume of measuring bore

V disp :

Displacement volume

V P :

Passage volume

φ :

Equivalence ratio

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Ropar, Rupnagar, Punjab, India

    Rakesh Kumar Maurya

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  1. Rakesh Kumar Maurya
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Discussion/Investigation Questions

Discussion/Investigation Questions

  1. 1.

    Discuss the applications where high accuracy and/or high repeatability of cylinder pressure measurement is required during engine development and testing process. Also, list the applications with moderate requirements on accuracy or repeatability for cylinder pressure measurement.

  2. 2.

    Discuss and list the design issues related to combustion sensors (piezoelectric pressure sensor, ion current sensors, and optical sensors) on automotive engine installed in laboratory test cell or a production vehicle.

  3. 3.

    Discuss the main advantages and disadvantages of piezoelectric sensors. List and explain the properties required of materials suitable for transduction elements in sensors. Fill the table showing the basic characteristics of sensing materials with notations low, very low, high, very high, and normal.

    Transduction principle

    Strain sensitivity

    Threshold

    Span-to-threshold ratio

    Piezoelectric

    		   

    Piezoresistive

    		   

    Inductive

    		   

    Capacitive

    		   
  4. 4.

    Discuss the advantages of direct pressure derivative measurement using current-to-voltage converter over charge amplifier-based measurement for cylinder pressure indicating by the piezoelectric transducer. Justify your answers.

  5. 5.

    Differentiate between piezoelectric and piezoresistive sensors. Explain why piezoelectric sensors are used for in-cylinder pressure measurement and piezoresistive sensors are used for manifold pressure and fuel line pressure measurement. Complete the following table showing different criteria for which a measurement technology is preferable to the others. Use the notation “↑” for preferred and “↓” for not preferred.

    Criteria

    Static measurement

    Quasi-static measurement

    Dynamic measurement

    Pressure pulsation

    Small sensor dimension

    Wide temperature range

    Piezoelectric

    		      

    Piezoresistive

    		      
  6. 6.

    Explain the longitudinal, transverse, and shear cuts in piezoelectric elements and how it affects the charge output of the sensor.

  7. 7.

    Draw a typical cross-sectional diagram of a piezoelectric pressure transducer, and discuss all the major elements along with their functions. The piezoelectric sensor can be divided into two categories based on the output signal. Pressure sensors are available as charge output (PE) and voltage output (IEPE). Discuss the merits and demerits of PE and IEPE sensors.

  8. 8.

    Discuss the merits and demerits of pressure sensor mounting on engine cylinder head using direct installation and installation using adapters/sleeves.

  9. 9.

    Define the thermal drift during cylinder pressure measurement and write its causes. Discuss at least three methods to characterize the short-term thermal drift in measured in-cylinder pressure signal.

  10. 10.

    Discuss the methods for mitigating the short-term thermal drift from pressure sensors during in-cylinder pressure measurements in reciprocating engines.

  11. 11.

    Discuss the advantages of cooled pressure sensor over uncooled pressure sensor and uncooled pressure sensor over cooled pressure sensor designs. Write the applications when you will prefer cooled pressure sensor and applications when uncooled pressure sensor will be preferred.

  12. 12.

    Four possible positions (A, B, C, and D) for intrusive pressure sensor installation (red circle) are shown in Fig. P2.1 for a two-valve spark ignition engine with homogeneous combustion. Arrange four configurations (A, B, C, and D) in ascending order of preference for pressure sensor installation based on thermal as well as gas dynamics considerations. Justify your answer by discussing the merits and demerits of each sensor installation position.

  13. 13.

    Two possible mounting positions (A & B) for intrusive pressure sensor installation (red circle) is shown in Fig. P2.2 for a two valve diesel engine with piston bowl combustion chamber. Write the preferred method for pressure sensor installation in this case and justify your answer by discussing the merits and demerits of both the positions. Discuss the effect of both measuring position by drawing a typical graph of the measured pressure signal.

  14. 14.

    Figure P2.3 shows the typical variations of pressure difference due to thermal shock as a function of crankshaft position for different spark timings, engine loads (BMEP), engine speeds, and operating air-fuel ratios. Discuss the effect of thermal shock on pressure measurement by explaining the trend observed with different engine operating parameters. Explain the reasons why maximum thermal shock occurs at 2000 engine speed instead of 1000 rpm (Fig. P2.3c). Thermal shock is also highest for stoichiometric (λ = 1) engine operations (Fig. P2.3d). Justify this observation with the explanation of combustion process.

  15. 15.

    Assume a recessed installation of the miniature pressure transducer on engine head (Fig. 2.35b). Calculate and plot the frequency of pipe oscillations in measured pressure signal for cylinder gas temperature of 500, 1000, and 2000 K as a function of measuring channel length. Measuring channel radius can be considered as 1.5 mm, and cavity volume (Vcv) ahead of the pressure transducer is 12 mm3. Discuss the effect of gas temperature on the frequency of oscillations at particular channel length.

  16. 16.

    Explain the trend in variation of the pipe oscillation frequency of the measured signal with advanced spark timing in a recessed installation of the pressure sensor. Explain how you will choose the channel length for pressure sensor mounting during knocking operating conditions.

  17. 17.

    Explain the working principle of ion current sensor. Write the merits and limitations of using the ion current sensor for combustion diagnostics and engine control. Discuss the advantages of using multielectrode spark plug over signal electrode spark plug for ion current sensing.

  18. 18.

    What are the typical ions formed during combustion, which are mainly responsible for ion current signal? Discuss the effect of air-fuel ratio, EGR, and combustion temperature on the signal strength of ion current sensor in spark ignition engine.

  19. 19.

    Draw the typical shape of the ion current signal as a function of crank angle position for spark ignition (SI), compression ignition (CI), and homogeneous charge compression ignition (HCCI) engines. Justify the different peaks observed in the curve for different combustion modes.

  20. 20.

    Discuss the sources of error during cylinder pressure measurements. Specifically list the possible error sources at the level of the pressure sensor, crank angle encoders, TDC determination, transmission cables, signal conditioning, data acquisition, and data processing.

  21. 21.

    Discuss the reasons why crank angle encoders (not time-based signal recording) are used for cylinder pressure measurement in reciprocating engines. Define the resolution of crank angle encoder. Write the effect of crank angle resolution on cylinder pressure measurement and its further analysis for different combustion parameters.

  22. 22.

    Discuss the difference between the optical encoder and inductive-type encoder. In terms of accuracy, which one is preferred for cylinder pressure measurement? Write the sources of error in inductive crank angle measurement system.

  23. 23.

    Calculate the obtained sampling frequency for a four-stroke spark ignition engine that is running at 5000 rpm and uses the incremental crank angle encoder of two pulses per degree. Assume that you are using only “A” pulse of the encoder. Comment on whether this resolution is sufficient for knocking combustion analysis. Discuss the ways to increase the sampling frequency of the measurement.

Fig. P2.1
figure 61

Engine head cross section with transducer installation at different locations

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Fig. P2.2
figure 62

Engine head cross section with transducer installation at different locations along with piston bowl (Courtesy of Kistler)

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Fig. P2.3
figure 63

Variation of pressure difference due to thermal shock at different engine operating conditions (adapted from [26])

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Maurya, R.K. (2019). In-Cylinder Pressure Measurement in Reciprocating Engines. In: Reciprocating Engine Combustion Diagnostics. Mechanical Engineering Series. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-11954-6_2

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